The Southern California city was recognized for its fiber network, digital inclusion efforts, technology incubation, IT recycling and several other projects.

The second time was the charm for Riverside, Calif., on Friday, June 8, when the city was named the world’s Intelligent Community of the Year for 2012 at a ceremony in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Riverside broke through after being a Top Seven Intelligent Communities finalist in 2011 for the annual award from the Intelligent Community Forum, a think tank that studies IT’s contribution to economic development.

[Editor’s Note: The Intelligent Community Forum is a blog contributor to Digital Communities, a sister website of Government Technology.]

Mayor Ron Loveridge, city CIO Steve Reneker and Assistant City Manager Deanna Lorson were in attendance to accept the award, given for the first time to a U.S. community.

The Southern California community was recognized for its fiber network, digital inclusion efforts, technology incubation, IT recycling and several other projects.

The Intelligent Community of the Year is determined based upon a metrics-based scoring process developed and administered by a team of professors in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The field is winnowed from hundreds, to 21, and then to seven. The winner is determined through further numerical analysis, and site visits and field reporting from Intelligent Community Forum officials.

Matt Williams was previously the news editor of Govtech.com, and is now a contributor to Government Technology and Public CIO magazines. He also previously served as the managing editor of TechWire, a sister publication to Government Technology.2